A decade of change: How downsizing has evolved

Since 2016, the way Australians in their 50s and 60s approach work, home life and community has changed – and so too has what they want from their homes.One of the clearest shifts has been in working life.2025 data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that people aged between 55 and 64 have had the fastest-growing rates of employment, reflecting a move toward working later in life.Alongside increasingly active lifestyles and flexible routines, this is changing what over-50s want from their homes. The preference is no longer simply for smaller homes, but for homes that work harder and smarter."One of the biggest changes we’ve seen is that life after 50 is becoming much less defined by traditional ideas of retirement,” says Andrew Coulter, Chief Operating Officer of GemLife, a provider of Australian over-50s lifestyle resorts."They’re looking to rightsize – to find a home that is easier to maintain but still gives them the space, quality and functionality they want for the way they live.”A decade later, the company says the shift from traditional ‘downsizing’ towards ‘rightsizing’ is one of the clearest changes it has seen in the over-50s market.GemLife has seen ...